This Day in Baseball History:August 2, 1979 > Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees is killed when his private plane crashes several hundred feet short of the runway at Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio. A seven-time All-Star, Munson was the recipient of the 1970 AL Rookie of the Year Award and the 1976 AL MVP Award. Just 32 years old, Munson's tragic death curtails what could have been a Hall of Fame career.